Gaseous electric discharge device



Original Filed Feb. 18, 1936 |NVENTOR5 Hans Jancke BRYobert Rompe A TORNEY Patented Apr. 4, 1939 UNITED. STATES GASEOUS ELECTRIC DISCHARGE DEVICE Hans Jancke and Robert Rompe, Berlin, Germany, assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application February is, 1936. Serial No. 04,551.

Renewed November 12, 1938.

February 25, 1935 InGermany a cam. (c1. ire-42) The present invention relatesto gaseous electric Fig. 1 is a side elevatlonal view of the lamp,

tion Serial Number 26,674, filed June 14, 1935, the

inventor being Robert Rompe.

The lamp disclosed in the co-pending applilo cation referred to above is preferably operated at a container temperature greater than 750 C. and i a tellurium vapor pressure greater than 0.1 mm. and the light emitted thereby closely approaches daylight in color. At room temperature the teli lurium electrodes are crystalline solids but during operation of the lamp the electrodes are liquid. In changing from the solid to the liquid state the tellurium expands and frequently exerts sumcient force on the electrode chambers to crack or break the latter terminating the useful life of the lamp. C onveraely when the 1p is turned ofi thetellurlum changes from a liquid to a solid state and in so doing contracts. Frequently the solidified tellurium does not make contact with the current lead which makes the re-starting of the lamp impossible.

The object of the present invention is to provide a gaseous electric discharge lamp having tellurium electrodes which has a long useful operating life and which is easily.,restarted. Still further objects and advantages attaching to the device and to its use and operation will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following particular description.

The invention attains its objects by mounting of the electrode chambers of the lamp container. The receptacle consists of electrically conducting, high melting point, resilient material and is connected, to the current lead sealed into the electrode chamber. A quantity of tcllurium is located in said receptacle. The conical shape and venti'on is shown, in which a resilient, conically shaped receptacle in each of this specification a lamp embodying the inand 0 Fig. 2 is an enlarged, side sectional view of one end of the lamp illustrated in Fig. 1.

Like numbers denote like parts in both the figures.

Referring to the drawing the lamp comprises an elongated tubular quartz container I having a starting gas therein, such as argon, neon, xenon, or the like, and having at each end'thereof an electrode chamber 2 which is conical in shape and opens into the tubular part of the container l. Each of the electrode chambers 2 has a tubular member 3 fused thereto and surrounding a rod t. The rod t is the current lead and terminates in the electrode chamber 2.

The receptacle consists of a resilient wire 6, l of high melting point material, such as tungsten,

one end of which is attached to the inner end 5 of the current lead Al, as by welding, and the part 6 of which is wrapped closely around the part of the rod d extending along the axis of the sonically shaped electrode chamber 2. The wire 6, l is coiled in such manner that each turn thereof is contiguous to the turns on either side thereof and the part i of the wire 6, i is contiguous to the inner surface of the electrode chamber 2. The part i of the wire thus forms a resilient body interposed between the tellurium contained therein and the electrode chamber 2,

The inner portion of the electrode lead ll extends an appreciable distance into the electrode chamber 2 and terminates below the brim of the receptacle formed by the wire 6, l. Said receptacle is filled to the brim with a body 8 of tellurium (in the drawing the receptacle is shown only half full for the sake of clarity of illustration) The advantages of the conically shaped, electrically-conducting, resilient receptacle formed by the wire 6, i in the electrode chamber 2 have been mentioned above.

The joint between rod t and the tubular member t is a ground, gas tight one, when desired, or a fused, graded seal is used between the rod t and the electrode chamber 2, when desired. The receptacle is made of sheet metal and has a plurality of slits therein for resiliency, when desired. While we have shown and described and have pointed out in the annexed claims certain novel features of the invention, it will, be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its use and operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. An .electric discharge device comprising a sealed vitreous container, a gaseousatmosphere therein, an electrode chamber of vitreous material fused thereto, a current lead sealed into said electrode chamber, a quantity of vaporizable material in said electrode chamber, said material being solid at room temperature and liquid during the operation of said device and a resilient receptacle of electrically conducting material for said vaporizable material, said receptacle being connected to said current lead and being mounted in said electrode chamber, the walls of said receptacle being interposed between said material and said chamber, said receptacle being capable of containing said material in its liquid state and being capable of expanding under the forces generated with increasing temperature in the material in its solid state to dissipate said forces to prevent rupture thereby of said chamber walls during the starting of said lamp.

2. An electric discharge lamp comprising a sealed vitreous container, a gaseous atmosphere therein, an electrode chamber of vitreous material fused thereto, a current lead sealed into said electrode chamber, a quantity of vaporizable material in said electrode chamber, said material being solid at room temperature and liquid during the operation of said lamp and a resilient receptacle of electrically conducting material for said vaporizable material, said electrode chamber being substantially conical in shape, said current lead extending along the axis of said chamber, said receptacle conforming to the shape of said electrode chamber, being connected to said current lead and being mounted in said electrode chamber, the walls of said receptacle being interarcades posed between said material and said chamber, v

said receptacle being capable of containing said material in its liquid state and being capable of expanding under the forces generated with increasing temperature in the material in its solid state to dissipate said forces to prevent rupture thereby of said chamber walls during the starting of said lamp.

3. An electric discharge lamp comprising a sealed vitreous container, a gaseous atmosphere therein, an electrode chamber of vitreous material fused thereto, a current lead sealed into said electrode chamber, a quantity of vaporizable material in said electrode chamber, said material being solid at room temperature and liquid during the operation of said lamp and a resilient receptacle of electrically conducting material for said vaporizable material, said electrode chamber being substantially conical in shape, said current lead extending along the axis of said chamber, said receptacle consisting of a resilient wire of high melting point material having one end thereof fused to the inner end of said current lead and being wrapped closely around said current lead along the length thereof, the part of said Wire out of contact with said lead being coiled in conical shape, the turns thereof being contiguous with each other and with the inner surface of said container and extending beyond the inner end of said current lead, said receptacle being capable of containing said material in its liquid state and being capable of expanding under the forces generated with increasing temperature in the material in its solid state to dissipate said forces to prevent rupture thereby of said chamber 5 

